Children and their inherent rights: A discourse analysis of Newfoundland and Labrador's early learning framework

Ratified in 1991, the Canadian government made a commitment to uphold the rights of all children in accordance with the United Nations Convention on the Rights of the Child. However, over 30 years later, there continues to be a lack of awareness of children’s rights in early learning and childcare sector. Through the lens of children’s rights, this study employed a qualitative discourse analysis to review Newfoundland and Labrador’s early learning framework to examine if, how and to what extent the framework exemplifies a children’s rights approach. Findings revealed that children’s rights discourse is implicitly reflected throughout the framework. The study revealed that early learning frameworks have the potential to implement a children’s rights approach into practice and enhance the awareness of children's rights for children, families, early childhood professionals, pre-service early childhood professionals and the community.